C|e (liaMbki OBntomologbt. 



VOL. III. LONDON, ONT., APRIL, 1871. NO. 1. 



OUR THIRD VOLUME. 



To all our friends and correspondents— to all who read these pages, we bid 

 a kindly greeting. Once more we are entering upon a new volume ; for the third 

 time we solicit the attention and assistance of all lovers of nature throughout 

 the continent — of all especially who delight in the study of the wonderfully varied 

 forms, structure and habits of Insects. In addition, we now also desire to draw 

 into our friendly circle of readers and observers in the same great field of nature, 

 that numerous class of haters of insects, who hate them with a deadly hate, who 

 give them no quarter in any case, and who devote them all alike to execration 

 and unsparing destruction. Friends, we invite you all to come and join us in 

 our work, which is one of deepest pleasure, even though often filled with toil; 

 come with us and search into the mysteries of the insect world; help us to trace 

 out the wondrous beauties of structure, form aud coloring of these marvels of 

 the Creator's power; help us to investigate thoroughly the lives, metamorphoses, 

 habits, occupations, food, and all other matters connected with these tiny crea- 

 tures; join us in working out their scientific arrangement and nomenclature; aid 

 us in rightly discriminating between friend and foe, between noxious, beneficial 

 and neutral insects, and let us all unite in the endeavour to discover the best 

 means of counteracting the ravages of the one, and of encouraging and protecting 

 the other. 



In this work till can do something; not only the laborious student of Ento- 

 mology and the ardent collector of insects, but multitudes of others as well. 

 Every fruit grower, farmer and gardener, every one who cultivates even a square 

 yard of ground, has constant opportunities of learning new facts respecting 

 these ubiquitous creatures, and can, if he but will, add much to our knowledge 

 of them. Careful observation is the first and most important operation, and 

 next the accurate record of the facts observed. It is astonishing how much can 

 be learnt in a single season by any one who will but open his eyes to what is 

 going on about him, and how much true pleasure can be derived from the con- 

 templation. We beg, then, kindly reader, that if you are not already like our- 

 selves a devotee at this particular shrine of Nature, that you will make use of 

 this joyous spring time that has opened upon us, and become initiated into the 

 mysteries of this alluring science. It is a branch of knowledge the pages whereof 

 are open to all, the secrets of which are ready to be disclosed to every enquirer. 

 It requires no costly apparatus, no long journeys in search of materials; its 



